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Animal Farm
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story is a 1945 novella by George Orwell. At the time of its publication, the Russian Revolution was occurring and the Soviet Union was rising. The novella is an allegory with its characters and events loosely based on Russia's leader Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union, and that Orwell made it a satire to express his concern of the Russian politics and society during his time. The novel focuses on a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer and live free from their owner's tyranny, until their society becomes a corrupted totalitarianism. As mentioned above, a majority of the animals are inspired by historical figures during the Russian Revolution such as Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, etc. Plot Summary Old Major, an elderly prize-winning boar, gathers all the farm animals of Manor Farm into the barn one night for a meeting. He describes to them a dream that he had where all animals lived free from their human masters' tyranny. He also persuades them to work hard and prepare for the rebellion that would soon come in order to make his dream a reality. After Old Major dies 3 days later, two younger pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, begin to take lead and formalize Major's principles into a philosophy they called Animalism. The animals manage to defeat their drunk, negligent owner Mr. Jones by running him off the property. They rename their home Animal Farm and created the Seven Commandments of Animalism posted on the side of the barn. The farm animals work together to govern themselves, with the cart-horse Boxer being the most hard-working of them. Animal Farm begins to improve. The pigs become the main supervisors, with Snowball teaching the animals how to read and Napoleon taking in a group of puppies to teach them the principles of Animalism. When Mr. Jones returns to try to retake his land along with a group of other men, the animals successfully defeated them in an event they called The Battle of the Cowshed. Shortly after, a conflict begins to form between Napoleon and Snowball, especially when Snowball makes plans to construct a windmill. One day, while Snowball was giving out a speech about the windmill, Napoleon summons his guard dogs (the puppies he had trained himself earlier) and they chase Snowball off Animal Farm. After he is gone, Napoleon takes over as leader and he will make the decisions himself. But he decides to allow the animals to build the windmill anyway. Everyone, including Boxer, constructs the windmill for a whole year, despite experiencing gruelling, difficult working hours. As food shortages begin to run low, Napoleon starts to make trades with other farms nearby. But after the windmill was destroyed during a storm, the pigs and Napoleon blame Snowball for causing the structure's sabotage, and even see him as a threat towards Animal Farm. Any animal who opposed Napoleon and took part in Snowball's conspiracy would be executed for treason. He expands his powers, becomes a totalitarian dictator, and he and the pigs begin acting like humans, such as sleeping in beds inside Mr. Jones' house (despite it being against the rules of the Seven Commandments). He had even enlisted a pig named Squealer to be his propagandist, who defends his actions by justifying to the animals that Napoleon is doing the right thing; except that the animals are starved and overworked and the pigs thrive in a lavish lifestyle. A local farmer named Mr. Frederick swindles Napoleon after a purchase of timber and attacks the farm by destroying the windmill with dynamite, which the animals had worked so hard on for a greater expense. But they managed to fend him off in another battle. They continue more work on rebuilding the windmill, but after Boxer collapses from being weak and exhausted, Napoleon sells him to a glue factory and Squealer tells the animals that Boxer died peacefully in an animal hospital. Years went by, and Napoleon and the pigs start behaving like humans; such as walking on two legs and drinking whisky, while the rest of the animals' lives remain the same as before. The Seven Commandments are now induced into one principle, which says, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". Animal Farm has now been changed back to Manor Farm and everyone else had already forgotten that the rebellion had happened. The animals witness the pigs and farmers playing a card game, and can't decide who are the humans or pigs. Characters The Animals Napoleon- A fierce-looking boar who gains power as leader of Animal Farm. He rules the farm as a corrupted, totalitarian dictator, such as making the animals' working lives miserable and keeping his power and wealth to himself. He is ruthless towards his enemies, and constantly sees one of the pigs, Snowball, as a potential threat to his power. Snowball- One of the pigs who takes part in the rebellion of Animal Farm. He challenges against Napoleon for leadership but is popular and loyal to the animals and tries to improve the Farm's environment by having a windmill constructed. After he is permanently chased off the Farm by Napoleon, he becomes forgotten by the others and rewritten as a villain. Squealer- One of the pigs who is Napoleon's second-in-command and his propagandist. He convinces the animals that the pigs are working hard in everyone's best interest, and also gives out false statistics that makes the others believe in him what he says. Whenever the pigs disobey the Animalism principles, he defends it by using his powerful, energetic speaking style the best way possible. Boxer- A cart-horse. He is a strong believer in the revolution and is always loyal and determined. He uses his strength and dedication to help build the windmill and be a faithful follower to Napoleon. He trusts the pigs in everything they say and that problems can be solved by hard-working and perseverance. Old Major- An elderly, prize-winning boar. At the beginning of the story, he tells the farm animals about his dream of freedom and revolution, and is the one who convinces them to take part in the rebellion. He created the ideas of Animal Farm and originated the principles of Animalism. He dies shortly after his announced his plans of rebellion. Clover- Another cart-house at Manor Farm who is a close companion to Boxer. She is supportive and devoted to the Revolution, but she soon witnesses the pigs' corruption and isn't smart enough to resist it. She also serves as a motherly figure to the others animals. Benjamin- An elderly, cynical donkey. He is as clever and intelligent as the pigs but refuses to take part in their revolution, especially when he senses things are about to go wrong. His personality doesn't become infected by the Animal Farm rebellion and believes life remains the same afterwards. Mollie- One of the mares who once pulled Mr. Jones' cart. She enjoyed being pampered and looked after, and wearing ribbons in her mane. She misses her old lifestyle once Animal Farm is formed and later flees from the Farm to find a different lifestyle elsewhere. Moses- A tame raven who tells the animals stories of a heavenly place called Sugarcandy Mountain, where the animals would supposedly go to after their death. Muriel- A goat who reads out loud the Seven Commandments whenever Clover suspects of the pigs' corruption and tyranny. Minimus- One of the pigs who writes propagandist songs and poems dedicated to Animal Farm and Napoleon. Bluebell, Jessie and Pincher- The dogs of Animal Farm. Jessie and Bluebell gave birth to some puppies, but Napoleon takes the puppies in to "educate" them and make them his guard dogs. The Humans Mr. Jones- The owner of Manor Farm. He is often drunk and neglectful to his livestock. The animals managed overthrow him by running him off the property and claiming it as their own. Mr. Frederick- A farmer who is the owner of Pinchfield, a neighbouring farm. Napoleon tried to look at him for help, but Mr. Frederick ends up betraying him by swindling him and trying to sabotage Animal Farm. Mr. Pilkington- Another farmer who owns Foxwood, also a neighbouring farm. He is bitter enemies with Mr. Frederick but is a close ally to Napoleon. Mr. Whymper- A human solicitor who Napoleon uses to represent Animal Farm to human society and to the outside world. Writing History/Reception George Orwell first began work of Animal Farm in 1943-44, during WWII and the UK's alliance with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany. The story was inspired by the events of the Russian Revolution in 1917 that was written by Orwell's point of view. It involved with barnyard animals rebelling and overthrowing their human master and establish a dystopian society of their own that were based on the figures of the Revolution. The novella was rejected by 4 publishers since the Soviets were at war with Germany at the time, and the story was deemed controversial. They also worried that publishing the novel would be offensive towards Britain's Russian allies. On August 17th, 1945, Animal Farm was finally published, selling out 4500 copes in two weeks and becoming a success in both England and the United States. It was met with mostly positive reviews, with some critics praising its intelligent writing on satire and moral values, which would later make Orwell an inspirational writer. Other reviewers, such as George Soules of New Republic, criticized it for being 'clumsy' and a disappointment. Animal Farm was banned in the Soviet Union, mainly to keep their faith with their alliance with Britain and that selling the novel would receive backlash. Themes Power and Corruption Totalitarianism Symbols Foreshadowing External Links Category:20th-century novels Category:Allegory novels Category:Novels